Author Archive

December 7, 2018

Originally posted in Blandin eNews… For many rural communities, the answer to the “what do you want for Christmas?” question is simple. “Broadband!” But broadband is a big ask and from my experience, Santa does not always deliver on the big asks. We may get an envelope with some of the money, but we need […]

November 7, 2018

Originally posted in Blandin eNews Moving a community broadband initiative forward requires a mystical blend of community leadership and technical/financial knowledge meeting opportunity. When I review the many successful broadband projects, I see that each project has a unique mix of these elements. For me, community leadership is the most interesting facet. Leadership can emerge […]

October 7, 2018

Originally posted in Blandin eNews… The toughest decisions that rural places have often come early in the broadband discussion process. They are not technical questions, but rather policy choices around balancing the business case with equity considerations. Sometimes these decisions are made with little or no discussion or even recognition of the long term impact. […]

September 7, 2018

Originally posted in Blandin eNews We live in interesting times and that is not always for the best. It is, at best, a chaotic broadband scene in the rural countryside. We have a host of emerging and improving technologies (many of which are highly touted, but unable to meet Minnesota’s 2026 state broadband goal). We have existing […]

August 7, 2018

Originally posted in Blandin eNews… It is exciting to work with three new communities in the Blandin Broadband Communities Program. This group of communities is unique in our Blandin team experience of working with 36 communities in four previous cohorts. Each of these three communities is or is in the process of being very well-served. […]

July 7, 2018

Originally posted in Blandin eNews… On Minnesota’s broadband maps, far too much of greater Minnesota is still unserved. If you zoom into the map, however, you will see that most towns are considered served, with 100 Mb/20 Mb service available, areas outside cities and towns are not. Many communities have three wired providers for businesses […]

June 7, 2018

Originally posted in Blandin eNews… I hope that the screeching halt to the legislative session does not bring an equally painful pause to community efforts to improve Minnesota’s broadband progress. Those areas with quality broadband are moving fast ahead of the unconnected places. Economic developers forced to work on improving broadband are left at the […]

May 7, 2018

Originally posted in Blandin eNews… I’m in Austin TX for the Broadband Communities Conference. Austin is widely noted for talent attraction. Minnesotans remember Austin grabbing a big 3M expansion in the Perpich years. Seemingly, decades ago, locals started the “keep Austin weird” movement. Now with corporate campuses, condo towers and traffic everywhere, I expect that […]

April 19, 2018

Today Bill Coleman talked about broadband with local officials serving on the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC) about their options for better broadband for the whole region. (Learn more.) Broadband in the Arrowhead Region (MN)

April 7, 2018

Originally posted in Blandin eNews… Earlier in this E-news blast, you should have seen some details about applying to become a Blandin Broadband Community (BBC). I would like to fill in more details about why you should consider this intensive initiative for your community. If you have connectivity challenges, becoming a BBC can help align […]